Experts use technology to find artifacts

By Ashley BoydStaff Writer

Monday

Aug 31, 2009 at 12:01 AM

For his project at Moundville, University of Alabama anthropology professor John Blitz threw out all traditional methods of excavation. Blitz partnered with archaeology consultant Chet Walker and is using a magnetometer to locate remains that date back to the 1200s. The magnetometer, an instrument sometimes used in geophysical surveys to find iron deposits than can be indicative of prehistoric activity, helped Blitz and Walker discover clusters of house remains in the test trial. With plans to explore more than 250 acres in an unexplored section of Moundville,BBlitz expects to gain new insight on how the Moundville Native Americans lived.“We’re finding clusters of probable house remains, so what that seems to tell us is that it’s more extensive than we previously thought,” Blitz said.Blitz said the magnetometer is able to indicate remains using computer-generated technology without disturbing the archaeological site. As the magnetometer is dragged across the soil, its sensors measure anomalies in the intensity and direction of the earth’s magnetic field as a result of human activity that may have changed the magnetic properties of the ground.“What’s so revolutionary about this is that it finds things that are invisible. We can go right to certain spots without having to disturb the soil,” Blitz said. “It’s a wonderful way of getting a good idea of where people were living and looking for remains that have not been examined before.”With years of experience working at archaeological sites throughout the world, Walker was the first person Blitz approached to help with his Early Moundville Project. His consulting firm, Archaeo-Geophysical Associates, has worked on projects in 10 U.S. states, as well as in Belize and Peru. The firm has worked with the Archaeological Conservancy, various cultural resource management firms, Native American tribes and researchers on prehistoric and historic sites.Walker said the Moundville project is one of the larger projects he has worked on and that he is looking forward to the results. He said that while the magnotometer’s findings aren’t definite, several of his past findings have been successful. Walker’s work with the Bowie County Levee Re-alignment Project, a cultural resources management project, was successful in locating close to 100 new structures at the Caddo Mounds State Park in Texas.“The sites I’ve worked on aren’t always as cool as Moundville. It’s a little bit easier with the Mississippian sites to make interpretations of data,” Walker said. “While the Mississippian architecture is pretty well known, there are different types of architecture. We are finding that there’s good evidence supporting these findings.”Walker said that with each new project, he never knows what to expect. “My prediction is that we’ll hit stuff that’s completely unpredictable,” he said. “There are lots of architectural types and styles that we haven’t previously identified [...] A lot of the stuff is really well known, but there’s always stuff that’s off the chart and really new. As these techniques get used more and more, we’ll create a better understanding of what the Mississippian landscape looked like.”Blitz said that the project has only just begun. A test trial using the magnetometer was done in April, and plans are to explore the entire southwestern section of Moundville. Starting in September, Blitz will take a group of students in his field archaeology course to condcut a test excavation on Mound P as a follow-up to his test trial.Bill Bomar, director of Moundville Archaeological State Park, is confident the magnetometer’s findings will prove accurate and adds that this project dovetails with some of the changes at the park. He said that the museum, closed for nearly a year for a $5 million renovation will reopen with a new focus on theories. Blitz and Walker’s findings, Bomar said, support different theories about how the Moundville Native Americans lived. Visitors will be able to see Blitz’s findings when a new set of stairs are built alongside Mound P, Blitz’s planned excavation site.“We believe that archaeological museums in the past have, unfortunately, not done enough to recreate what life was like in the past. Our goal is to bring our theories to life,” Bomar said.Blitz said that while he has not yet received money for the project, he is hoping the test excavation will affirm his findings and generate enough money to map their entire area of study.“I’d like to generate some funds to continue the survey to map the entire site so we can have an atlas where probably huge remains, clusters of houses, are,” he said. “The full survey will be able to see where these house clusters are. This seems to suggest that the areas where people lived are more extensive than people thought.”

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